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Russia Pardon Fails to Placate Kremlin Critics

By

Richard Boudreaux

Updated April 23, 2012 8:55 p.m. ET

MOSCOW—Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday pardoned a man accused of head-butting a police officer during an anti-Kremlin demonstration, but left uncertain the fates of 31 other prisoners championed by the opposition as he prepares to leave office.

Opposition leaders had asked Mr. Medvedev in March to review the convictions of 37 people they consider political prisoners. The president had asked prosecutors to reconsider 32 cases, including that of billionaire oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, jailed since his arrest...